The disappointment of falling heartbreakingly short at the last World Cup and Olympic Games is driving the Kookaburras as they open their 2023 World Cup campaign against France tonight (Friday 13 January) at 8.30pm AEDT in Bhubaneswar, India.
On the eve of the Kookaburras’ bid for a fourth World Cup title getting underway, Head Coach Colin Batch said the near misses in 2018 and 2021 were still significant motivators.
“This is a new group and a new squad but there are a lot of players who went through both of those campaigns,” said Batch.
“The boys are still hungry to play as well as they can and produce a good result here. We went very close at the 2018 World Cup and in Tokyo but didn’t come home with the gold medal, so that motivation needs to be ongoing and drive the performance.”
“We feel we are better placed and more experienced for this campaign, but we have to achieve the goal…it can’t be a case of just talking about it…we need to produce it when it counts.”
The Kookaburras have been in India for a week acclimatising and finalising preparations for the most decorated hockey tournament outside the Olympic Games.
With only five internationals against India back in November under their belt leading into the World Cup, the Kookaburras fine-tuned for their clash against France with a practise match against Germany on Tuesday night.
Batch said they took a lot out of the Germany hit out and it was highly beneficial in the preparation for France, a team they have not met since the last World Cup in 2018.
“It is challenging playing different teams with different styles…the World Cup is a really difficult tournament to win,” said Batch.
“You need to be diligent about who you’re playing…find out what their weaknesses and strengths are, but you’ve got to balance that with developing your own game.”
“We have enough collective information about France to now focus on what we do and make sure it is at the level we need for Friday.
“We know France will throw everything at us and we have to be good enough to overcome that and produce a good performance to be successful.”
Entering the tournament as the world number one ranked team, Batch is not buying into any favouritism tag or suggestion the Kookaburras will be the hunted.
“People may talk that up but the reality is everyone starts fresh at this tournament,” said Batch.
“There are a lot of good teams here and we’re not looking any further than France.”
The last time the Kookaburras played in India was in early 2020 in the FIH Pro League at the same Bhubaneswar venue.
“We know what to expect and the players have settled in really well here,” said Batch.
“There is a lot of interest in the World Cup…it’s a huge event. The Indian people have embraced it so we’re expecting big crowds and our guys enjoy playing in these conditions, so we’re eagerly looking forward to the first game tomorrow.”
The Kookaburras lost in a shootout to the Netherlands in the Semi Finals of the last World Cup, before defeating England 8-1 in the Bronze Medal match.
Batch said taking learnings from not only that experience but campaigns from other major tournaments would assist the Kookaburras over the next 17 days of competition.
“What you try to do is place the importance of growth throughout the tournament,” said Batch.
“Whatever level we start at, we want to keep improving, so that needs to be there if we are to be successful here.”
Kookaburras co-captain Eddie Ockenden, who will compete at his fourth World Cup, is hoping to be part of more magical Kookaburras World Cup memories.
“The World Cup is an amazing tournament,” said Ockenden, who celebrated his 400th international last November.
“I know in Australia everyone looks at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, but the World Cup is a prestigious standalone hockey event…some of the best times in my career have been at the World Cup.”
The Kookaburras have won the World Cup three times (1986, 2010, 2014) and finished on the podium on a further six occasions.
More information on the tournament can be found on the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 website.
One more sleep until the FIH Hockey Men's World Cup starts 🙌
The biggest stage 🏆
The biggest stars ⭐️This is going to be a tournament for the history books 🫵
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Kookaburras Pool Matches – FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023
Kookaburras v France
13 January 2023 (3.00pm local time, 8.30pm AEDT)
Argentina v Kookaburras
16 January 2023, (7.00pm local time, 12.30am AEDT 17 January)
Kookaburras v South Africa
20 January 2023, (1.00pm local time, 6.30pm AEDT)
Broadcast: LIVE on FOX Sports and Kayo
Source- hockey.org.au, 12, January 2023.
